O What a Tangled Web Was Wove When Into Academia The Pony Dove

The Pony left early Friday morning from Oklahoma City to attend an undergraduate conference in engineering on the west coast. Not a toot-toot train engineering conference. The Pony is studying chemical engineering. At this conference, there were employers recruiting future employees. Much like the one at Genius's college, where he met the Garmin recruiter that resulted in two summer internships with them, and now a job waiting for him at graduation.

With their flight leaving OKC Friday morning at 8:00, The Pony rode with four other conference attendees, leaving OU at 5:30 a.m. They were not actual friends of his, but he did have classes with one of them. The Pony and Conference Girl were on the same flight, direct to San Francisco, but the others had different flights. Once they landed, the conference sent a shuttle to take them directly to the college, and from there they transported them to their hotel after the activities.

The Pony is not one to communicate much, but every now and then, on a break, he would send a text about who he talked to, and a couple of companies he met with. Events wrapped up Sunday after a banquet at 12:30. The Pony's flight home was not until midnight, and the other OU students had one at 11:00 p.m., so they were all going to hang out, and knew they could still get to the airport on time. As luck would have it, Conference Girl was on the same flight as The Pony again, and they had to go through Houston, and make a connecting flight 58 minutes after arriving.

RED FLAG! RED FLAG! I watch The Amazing Race! I know that an hour is not much time to make a connecting flight these days. So does Hick, the world traveler. He prepared The Pony before he even left Norman on Friday morning. "Wear comfortable shoes. You may have to walk a mile to another gate. Ask on the plane if you are landing in the same terminal as your connecting flight. If they won't tell you, ask at the first desk you see when you get off. DON'T check your bag. Carry it on. Go straight to the connecting flight. Don't waste any time."

Of course you know what happened. Not through any fault of The Pony. I got a text at 2:29 a.m. Backroads time. Meaning it was 12:29 in San Francisco.

"I'm on the flight back to Houston now. They ran out of overhead space, and since I was in a later boarding group, my bag had to be checked, and I'm upset about it because it's their fault."

"I hope you can make your connection. Can you ask a stewardess if there's anything you can do? Is there anything really important in it? In case you need to make the flight, and have them send the luggage later?"

"Well, it's not gonna happen. Right before we took off, the plane had to go back to the gate. And this delay was from their own screw-up with the bags. It's 20 minutes after planned takeoff now, and they said there would be a 20 minute delay to fix it."

"Dad says, when you land, talk to them about getting on the next flight to OKC. If they took your luggage while you were getting on, he says it should be waiting for you on the walkway when you get off. Ask the stewardess. Will your friend miss the flight too?"

"She's on this same flight, so probably."

"As you get off, talk to the people at the desk right there. If nobody is there, go to any gate for your airline and tell them you missed your flight and they need to get you on the next one to OKC."

"Yeah. That's what we're planning to do. Looking at the flight thing, they say the total delay will be about an hour, and it's at best going to get there after the other one already left. I'm not very happy with the airport people that handled the luggage loading that caused the delay. They said something about it being checked all the way through the connecting trip but they rushed me by before I could ask."

"Can you talk to Conference Girl? Are you both going to ask about the next plane? Dad says if your luggage is checked all the way through, then it's going to OKC without you, and you'll get it there."

"I don't know how! It's on this same plane with me! I can't talk to Conference Girl. She's like a dozen rows ahead, and doesn't have her phone on. Probably trying to sleep."

"Dad says if you get there and can't find your luggage, the airline will have to deliver it to your apartment. They sent his here for him one time when they lost it. You can find Conference Girl when you get off, and both try to find a plane."

"Okay. I have all my information on the tag. Going back to airplane mode now."

Soo...all day, we've been dealing with The Pony's issues. Not that we can help. He's not very worldly, you know. Hick could only communicate with him by text, because The Pony wouldn't call. Here's a summary, even though it seems really long.

5:00 a.m. Houston time--The Pony's flight from San Francisco was supposed to arrive in Houston. It did not.

6:00 a.m.--The Pony's connecting flight to OKC was supposed to leave. It did. Without him.

8:00 a.m.--The Pony's flight, carrying him and his luggage from San Francisco, arrived in Houston. He was told there were no flights to OKC available the rest of the day. Conference Girl had somehow booked a flight while on the plane, which would leave The Pony all by himself amongst a crowd of people, in the Houston airport, a strange boy in a strange land.

8:30 a.m.--The Pony's original connecting flight landed in OKC as scheduled. Without him.

11:30 a.m.--Conference Gal's plane left. The Pony was on standby. Couldn't get a seat. Said a few people (not people he knew) from his late flight were stuck without another flight. The airline said they were getting them a food voucher. Said he was pretty hungry. Hick told him to go eat! He had money. He didn't have to wait. By now he'd been up almost 30 hours, no sleep, no breakfast. Hick told him to go make a scene. That otherwise he was not going to get a plane. That he was a PAYING CUSTOMER stranded because of the airline, not somebody just looking for a ticket. The Pony did not want to do that. He was stressing. Hick told him to demand the next flight! His medicine was in his luggage, and he didn't need to be hanging around the airport without it.

12:48 p.m.--The Pony, still without a food voucher, used his credit card for lunch at Wendy's. Said he was #3 standby on five more flights, all direct to OKC.

2:39 p.m.--The Pony did not make the standby flight at 2:30. Said two people offered to give up their seats, but the airline would give them NO COMPENSATION for doing so, and they decided to keep their seats. BUT a guy NOT stranded with The Pony's flightmates paid for PRIORITY, and got on.

"They gave me a crappy $10.00 meal voucher and a confirmed seat for the 5:50 flight, and standby again on the 3:40 flight that's all the way across the airport."

"I guess you might as well go across the airport. It's not like you have anything else to do. Remember...you're not going to live in that airport the rest of your life. There's very little in this world that time and money can't fix. You WILL make it home. I know you're exhausted and stressed. I would fall apart in a situation like this. But you'll be okay."

"I kinda of fell apart already."

"You're inside, out of the elements. They have food and bathrooms. You have money. You're not in physical danger. It will work out. Even if it takes until the 5:50 flight."

"I know there are lots worse things."

"If you need to find a ride home from the OKC airport, you have money for Uber or a cab. Don't stress over that. Your luggage will turn up. Don't stress."

"I'll be okay. I'm at the terminal for the 3:40. My friend GalPal is picking me up whenever I get to OKC."

Let me take just a minute here to sing the praises of GalPal. She and The Pony met when they attended Camp Crimson, a summer orientation week. They are just platonic friends, but she has had his back ever since we left them on move-in night, after the National Merit Scholar parent's dinner. She's also a National Merit Scholar, and now living in her sorority house, but she still finds time to hang out with The Pony. Hick said to buy her dinner, but The Pony doesn't think she'll accept it. They help each other out all the time. She won't think it's anything special she's doing, driving 20 miles/30 minutes to pick up The Pony.

3:17 p.m.--"I'm getting on the flight that's about to start boarding."

Whew! I'm exhausted, and I even managed 3 hours of sleep last night! Hick came out on the porch while I was walking to tell me that The Pony had arrived safely back at his apartment. When I got back to my phone, I saw that he had sent me a text.

"I'm home now. Bout to sleep."

Man! I really wish I'd had my helicopter in working order! It's really hard to parent from half a continent away. Hick had the bright idea that The Pony and Conference Girl could just rent a car this morning when they arrived in Houston, and drive back to OKC. Only problem being that The Pony is 19, so is she, and you have to be 21 to rent a car. At least according to Genius, who was in charge of procuring the support fleet for his university's solar car team.

On the other hand, The Pony had a nice visit at The Museum of Modern Art on Sunday afternoon, before he entered that tangled web of travel.